The Core
by TheMole171
Summary: A woman ran through the jungle. Her heart pounding and her mind racing. The two already clumsy braids in her very dark hair were whipped wildly behind her as she raced away from whatever it was she was running from...
1. A Discovery

**"The Core"  
_by Erin Mo._**

_Disclaimer: Character names and locations are from the ABC show "Lost" and are copyrighted by them. All events are fictional and were created by me (Erin Mo.) who is of no affiliation to ABC or the writers of "Lost"._

Preface: Immediately following the end of the season I finale "Exodus, Part III"...

**Chapter 1 - A Discovery**

A woman ran through the jungle. Her heart pounding and her mind racing. The two already clumsy braids in her very dark hair were whipped wildly behind her as she raced away from whatever it was she was running from. The jungle was well lit by the sunlight, but suddenly it began to darken. Just as it seemed to thicken even more so, the woman burst through a bush and found herself on a previously unknown stretch beach. She kept running to where the wreckage of the tail part of a plane protruded through the trees. She slowed down as she saw a make-shift tent where two indistinguishable figures sat around a fire. As she jogged towards them, they stood and raced toward her. The first to reach the woman was an African-American man in his mid to late fifties. He had a bald head and a slowly graying beard. As he came closer to her, he reached down to rub his leg, which was badly injured in the crash. The second man was in his early to mid forties and had the air of an adventurer. His dress was very similar to that of a jungle cruise guide; he had a vest with numerous pockets that were packed with what appeared to be an assortment of survival necessities. His hair was cut very short but was noticeably light brown in color. There was also, a very distinct scar that ran from the top of his ear down to the edge of his lip on the right side of his face that he obviously obtained from the plane crash, but was otherwise unharmed. As he ran toward the distressed woman, the binoculars that were hanging around his neck swung from side to side and the sun glasses that sat on his head were pushed back. He caught them before they could fall off. The African American man reaches her first.

"Ana! What is it? What's going on?" He asks hurriedly. "Was it that _thing_ again? Did you see it?" Ana stared at him, held up her hand in wait, and continued trying to catch her breath. Ana appeared to be in her late twenties to early or mid-thirties. She was Hispanic. Her outfit had large tears, some of which revealed cuts and bruises on her forearm and stomach. There were branches and leaves caught in her two, now destroyed braids. She finally caught her breath and hoarsely began to speak.

"No. No monster this time Bernie. I was over on the other side of the peninsula" she began, "and I saw them. They were floating on pieces of wood…" She is interrupted by the adventurer.

"Who?" he had a rough, yet soothing voice. "Who did you see?"

"I don't know who they are. It looks like they were in some kind of boating accident."

"What did they look like?"

"They were still pretty far off shore when one of them, an African American man, yelled that some one was shot and that I should go get someone named 'Jack'. Who could he possibly mean?" For a brief moment, Ana remembered a conversation she had held with a nice looking man named Jack in the airport bar back in Sydney before flight had taken off. What seat was he supposed to be sitting in again? Oh yes, 23c. She quickly pushed the memory away. The adventurer was the first to speak again.

"They must be confused and delusional from being in the water for so long. How many of them were there?"

"I saw the one African American, floating on a piece of wood, and then there was an Asian man supporting another man on a second piece of wood. The one guy must have been the one who was shot. He didn't look too hot."

"Great God Almighty!" exclaimed Bernie. "We need to help them Brian!" The adventurer named Brian turned toward Ana and motioned for her to follow him. Bernie followed suit. Brian spoke as they walked.

"Bernard my good man, you'll be unable to make the hike to the peninsula with that leg of yours. I need you to stay here and get things ready for when we bring these people here." And briefly Brian demonstrated and explained exactly what Bernard needed to do. When he had finished, Ana helped Brian to place some basic supplies in a knapsack which he then slung over his shoulder. Turning to Ana he said "lead the way!"


	2. Man of Faith

**"The Core"  
_by Erin Mo._**

_Disclaimer: Character names and locations are from the ABC show "Lost" and are copyrighted by them. All events are fictional and were created by me (Erin Mo.) who is of no affiliation to ABC or the writers of "Lost".  
_

Preface: Immediately following the end of the season I finale "Exodus, Part III"...

**Chapter 2 - Man of Faith**

Back on the opposite side of the island, Jack Sheppard and John Locke stared apprehensively down into the depths of the freshly opened, yet still mysterious hatch, now lightened in the daylight. Hurley, or "Hugo", Reyes and Kate, who last name was still a mystery, looked on from a distance with awe. Appearing confused Jack started to pace.

"I just don't get it." He murmured to no one in particular as he walked. "How the HELL are we going to get down that thing?" Locke gazed at him a moment with a look that gave nothing away about his true feelings about Jack's illogical way of thinking. With a sigh, he responded.

"Since the ladder broke off when YOU tried to climb down it, I would have to say that we should find some rope." Jack stared at him disbelievingly.

"How much rope do we have on this island? We don't even know how deep down that thing goes." Hurley uncomfortably adjusted his shirt at these words. Locke continued to stare Jack. He appeared to be thinking very hard about something when suddenly, without warning he said.

"Well, why don't we find out?" and with that, he turned and jumped straight down into the hatch. All three of those who watched gasped and ran to the hole. Jack screamed after him.

"LOCKE!" after a pause with no answer he yelled again, "LOCKE! ARE YOU ALIVE? DO YOU SEE ANYTHING?" Again, there was no answer. Kate turned to Jack with a horrified look on her face but could say nothing. Hurley mumbled to himself.

"It's those numbers man. I'm telling you, they're bad. He shouldn't have done that." Kate suddenly turned to Hurley.

"What's with these numbers of yours anyway? You were yelling about them before when we lit the fuse."

"They're cursed."

"Cursed? There's no such thing as curs…"

"THEY'RE JUST BAD OKAY!" He yelled interrupting her. Kate stared at him, taken aback.

"Umm guys? You'd better come and look at this!" Jack was staring blankly down the hatch. Kate gave Hurley a sideways glance then slowly walked over to join Jack. Hurley did the same. All three of stared down after Locke and saw a light at the end of the tunnel begin to glow brighter and brighter.


	3. The Others

**"The Core"  
_by Erin Mo._**

_Disclaimer: Character names and locations are from the ABC show "Lost" and are copyrighted by them. All events are fictional and were created by me (Erin Mo.) who is of no affiliation to ABC or the writers of "Lost"._

Preface: Immediately following the end of the season I finale "Exodus, Part III"...

**Chapter 3 - The Others**

The sun shone bright and hot as two large men hauled the boy Walt Lloyd onto a rundown dock on a very overgrown and mist-covered side of the island. His mouth had been gagged with a rag and his arms and legs were bound. The boy's eyes were wide with terror and he writhed back and forth trying desperately to free himself as the group of outcasts who had kidnapped him slowly disembarked the old fishing boat. He felt one of the knots in the bindings around his wrists begin to loosen, but he made sure to hide it as best he could. With his body to hide his wrists as he worked on freeing them, he lent his ear to the soft conversation that was going on around him. The older, bearded man who had addressed his father, Michael Dawson, out at sea was whispering hurriedly with the girl that he had seen throw the explosive at the raft. She had blonde hair that was hidden under a handkerchief tied over it and a layer of dirt that was a common trait shared by the entire group of outcasts. Upon first glance at the girl, Walt thought that she appeared to be in her late twenties, but after studying her more, he realized that she was actually much younger. She seemed to be no older than about seventeen. Why, he wondered, was she hanging out with this crew? Then, for a moment, she turned to face him, and something about her very angular and sharp features seemed very familiar, like he had seen them before.


End file.
